


Operation Girl Scout Cookies

by nogitsune_lichen



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: A/B/O, Alpha Derek, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Anal Sex, Beacon Hills needs a new Mayor, Derek LOVES thin mints, Derek is a Good Boyfriend, Elections, Everyone knows about the supernatural, Falling In Love, Hiding, Knotting, M/M, Mage Stiles Stilinski, Mates, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg (mentioned if you fucking squint real hard), Oblivious Scott, Omega Stiles, Overly greasy McDonald's bags, Pack Bonding, Pack Feels, Secret Relationship, Talia and John are both running for Mayor of Beacon Hills, Top Derek Hale/Bottom Stiles Stilinski, True Mates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 09:41:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12554624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nogitsune_lichen/pseuds/nogitsune_lichen
Summary: After a minute Derek looks back up, his lips puckering in thought, “so...we just...see each other in secret. Then in November after local elections we can see each other for real?”“We are seeing each other for real! It’s just us who know about it for the first few months,” Stiles corrects.“Okay.”Stiles holds his breath, eyes widening, “okay as in okay let’s secretly date?”“Yes,” Derek adds his tone a little less bitter as if he is just now warming up to the idea.“Awsome! Holy shit, dude we’re mates,” Stiles beams.Or the one where both Talia and John are running for mayor of Beacon Hills and their sons end up being mates. Enter a secret relationship, a dash of smut, and a way too involved Laura Hale.





	Operation Girl Scout Cookies

**Author's Note:**

> My fingers have bled...18.7k for this. I hope you like this dude! I had a hell of a time writing it!!! 
> 
> Without further ado here is the fic ladies and gentlemen!

Stiles isn’t popular. 

Well technically he is popular by association of Scott and somewhat Danny who tolerates him. That and the fact he has the potential to become the most well trained and powerful mage on the west coast. So he kind of is popular and kind of isn’t popular at the same time; Jackson Douchemore likes to remind him of that every so often. Being at the top of the social hierarchy isn’t some grand aspiration for him either, he’s just there because Scott is on the lacrosse team now. Since he presented as an Alpha Scott has literally been catapulted into socializing with the best of the best. 

Stiles is just along for the ride. 

Of course there are times when Scott is busy with Allison — _ which is a lot of time to be honest _ — which means Stiles really doesn’t have anybody to turn to. Sometimes he can talk to Heather and Ethan who seem to not mind the occasional conversation about whatever pop culture bullshit comes up casually. 

Mostly? Mostly he’s okay with keeping to himself during those times. 

Like now for instance, as he shuts his locker after grabbing a few textbooks and a spare package of PopTarts and heads to the outdoor tables for his free period. He has to endure a chemistry test next week and knowing Harris he probably has to go the extra mile just in hopes of a B. 

Besides there is nothing better to do and this brown sugar cinnamon PopTart has his name on it.

It is a relatively nice day for early spring in northern California, mid-seventies and sunny. By the time he finds an empty table and sets all his stuff down Stiles finds himself shrugging off his hoodie to cool off. 

There are a few other people milling about, but for the most part it is quiet enough for Stiles to work without getting distracted. Even with being a mage, ADHD still plagues his mind from time to time. 

Two pencils, three highlighters, and a couple of bites of sugary pastries later he feels like he’s ready to study. Except not, because two bodies are suddenly sitting across from him, and it happens so quickly that he actually flails wild enough to smack his knee on the table and his pencils go flying into the grass nearby. 

“Jesus— _ fuck _ ,” Stiles yelps as his hand comes up to his chest as he gets his breath back. Across from him sits Erica Reyes and Boyd. 

Well  _ Vernon  _ Boyd but everybody just calls him Boyd. 

Stiles doesn’t really dwell on the guy’s name choice because he’s more focused on the “why the hell are they sitting across from him” part of this whole thing. The two share a glance, eyebrows furrowed as they struggle to not laugh at his freak out. 

There is another pause of extended silence and Stiles can’t take it. 

“So other than the minor heart attack, did you two come here for something else or are you lost?”

Erica snorts, breaking off a piece of his PopTart with perfectly painted red nails that match her lipstick. Stiles grabs the rest of it and pulls his snack closer to him, that’s  _ his _ . Of course he can share but he can’t stand the public school lunches, seriously there is only so many times he can force soggy undercooked pizza and hard mac ‘n cheese down his throat. This is his only substance between breakfast and when he gets home. 

“Or dead silence. Perfect,” Stiles grumbles, bracing himself on his elbows. 

Boyd is looking down at his chemistry work, eyes calculating and almost judgy. 

“Dude you’re not being subtle, seriously be like everyone else and bribe me into giving out work,” Stiles huffs, shutting his work into his book, because he won’t just give it away for free. Most of the time he can mooch twenty bucks off a person for good quality work; very steady income in his opinion. 

Boyd looks up at him and smiles...like full on pearly white smile that is just as predatory as Erica’s. 

“Thanks for the PopTart and entertainment,” Erica speaks before getting up, her hand linking with Boyd’s as they start to walk away. 

Stiles almost has the balls to yell a “you’re welcome” back at them, but he’s still focused on trying to figure out what the fuck that was. He won’t call it bullying because really all they did was sit there, but it wasn’t exactly a friendly exchange either. They left and now he’s down one bite of sugary goodness. 

He keeps trying to get his attention back to his work but he really can’t. After another twenty minutes of rereading the same passage over and over again Stiles decides he can’t take it anymore. He makes quick work of cleaning up his stuff, keeping it neat as he slides it all into his backpack before going back inside. 

Well other than a failed study attempt there isn’t much longer in the free period which means all he has to do is wait for Scott to get out of his class and they can hit it. Maybe he can swing past a Taco Bell or something, he really is hungry. 

Stiles waits by Scott’s locker, toying around on his phone for a little bit until the final bell went off. Students flood the hallway in a rush of voices and footsteps, all exhausted and ready to get out of here as well. It takes a moment but eventually he sees Scott come down the hall with a grin the size of Texas on his crooked face and a bounce in his step. 

“Uh, everything alright? I haven’t seen you this happy since you made first line,” Stiles greets. 

Scott fiddles with his locker combination a few times before getting it right, “Allison invited me over to study after school today.” 

“Study or  _ study _ ?” Stiles asks, wiggling his eyebrows. 

“I-I don’t know,” Scott squeaks, shoving at Stiles lightly as his face flushes red. 

“Come on Scotty, I think we both know you’re not going over the french revolution with Allison over the next few hours,” Stiles says seriously.

The Alpha bites his lips, the heart eyes he has been wearing lately come out. Stiles is so glad he’s not a were-anything because the last thing he wants right now is to smell whatever Scott is feeling at the moment. 

“Anyways,” he draws out, snapping Scott out of whatever daydream he was in, “I was studying outside today and you know who just comes up and sits with me?” 

“Uh...Greenberg?” Scott tries. 

“What? No,” Stiles corrects, “Erica and Boyd. They just sat across from me. She stole some of my PopTart and Boyd just stared at me. No communication, just silence from their end.” 

Scott pauses then, shutting his locker with his backpack slung over one shoulder, “do you still have any PopTart?” 

“Really?! That’s what you pull from that?” Stiles groans but pulls out the other half of the thing and hands it over to the Alpha. He gets a smile and a muffled thanks as Scott shoves a part of it in his mouth. In the end he just nods with a fond smile, clasping his friend on the shoulder. 

“Use protection, I don’t wanna be Uncle Stiles yet,” Stiles teases. 

Scott chokes, PopTart spraying onto the floor, “oh my god,  _ dude _ !” 

“See you bro!” Stiles calls as he walks down the hall towards the parking lot. 

He grabs his keys out of his pocket, taking the steps two at a time while approaching his Jeep. Today was a good day for parking, he managed to get a curbside spot which is usually once in a blue freaking moon. Stiles is unlocking his car door when a finger taps his shoulder out of nowhere. 

For the second time today he screams bloody murder and flails. 

His keys clatter to the ground.

“What the fuck is up today? Did I miss the memo for ‘ _ let’s scare the piss out of Stiles day _ ’?” He bites out and spins on his heel only to come face to face with Isaac Lahey. 

The guy rolls his eyes as he leans against the neighboring car like he owns it. Which he doesn’t, Isaac doesn’t have a car Stiles knows because he’s the Sheriff’s kid. He knows a little bit about a lot of people. 

“Also,” Stiles starts, “it’s warm outside, what’s with the scarf?”

“Are you usually this sassy?” Isaac asks. 

Stiles bends down and picks up his keys, letting the weight of them settle in his hand, “only when I’m annoyed. Which I am right now. Very much annoyed.” 

“Huh,” Isaac says and doesn’t say much more. 

Actually he just gets off the car and starts to walk away. 

“Um excuse me,  _ what is up _ ? I mean Erica and Boyd did the same thing earlier. Are you guys planning to murder me because I would very much advise against that!” Stiles says. 

Isaac turns and walks backwards for a second, shrugging, “not murder. Don’t worry about it.” 

So for the second time today Stiles is left in the dust trying to piece together the weird string of silent meet ups with people he doesn’t really know. So if one’s an accident, two is a coincidence, that makes Isaac three and three is a fucking pattern. 

Stiles gets in his Jeep and after a few sputtering attempts he gets her going and he heads home. 

* * *

 

It’s Sunday when the Stilinski family gets the news. He and his father are watching the five o’clock news like any other Sunday evening. Stiles is in the kitchen prepping dinner because while he loves his father, his cholesterol is high, and he can’t cook to save his life. 

Tonight is tofu stir-fry, light on the sodium. 

Their house is pretty open, which means he can see the living room from the kitchen and watch the news with his dad as he cuts up the veggies. So that is what Stiles is doing, cutting up some bell peppers and broccoli when the Beacon Hills newscaster introduces the next topic “ _ new runner in the Beacon County elections _ ”. 

Stiles nearly slices off his finger. 

“What the shit!?” Stiles shouts, putting the knife down. 

His father sits up in his recliner and waves a hand at him to shut up as he increases the volume. 

“ _ While things are looking very secure with runner Sheriff Jonathan Stilinski for mayor of Beacon County, late this afternoon a new runner has entered the race. Alpha Talia Hale, prominent lawyer and all around public celebrity in the community announced she was campaigning for the elections which will be held late this fall. She apparently already has appeal from the supernatural community as well as younger voters within the county. We’ll return with more details on Talia Hale’s campaign after the break. _ ” 

“What the shit?!" His father echoes. 

“That’s what I said,” Stiles says, aggressively cutting the produce, “why the hell is she running?” 

“I don’t know, but we’re going to need a lot of ammo to win,” his father says through a sip of his beer. 

They’re fucked. 

* * *

Curly fries are the best thing to grace the earth and Stiles will personally castrate anybody who disagrees with that fact. The only way they can be better is if one dips it into their milkshake...which is what he’s doing right now.

Patty’s is the only place that does it right and it’s a national treasure to everyone in Beacon Hills. 

Ever since Stiles was a baby he’s been coming here, and it is the same thing every time except as he got older he was able to move from the kids menu to the adult one. Burger, shake, and curly fries. Whenever he comes in, Patty — _ or her daughter depending on the day _ — just gives him a look and he nods because they know his order by heart. 

Scott is sitting across from him, making a dent in his own burger. He gets onion rings much to Stiles’ dismay, but he has never been able to convince Scott to order otherwise so he stopped trying a long time ago.

“So what is your dad gonna do?” The Alpha asks, taking a sip of his coke. 

“Keep running obviously, we just have to work a little harder. I mean about half of the county is some sort of supernatural, which means Talia already has half of them in her pocket. If she gets the younger voters we’re done for,” Stiles says. 

Scott raises an eyebrow, “so you’re going to…?"

“I’m now the supernatural face of my dad’s campaign.” 

“Well that makes sense I guess, you’re powers are really advanced,” Scott shrugs, “but I mean she’s a  _ werewolf _ . That is a lot more common than a mage.” 

Stiles’ eyebrows furrow, “are you saying I’m not good enough to—”

“No! I’m not saying that,” Scott groans, “I’m just saying she may appeal to a wider variety of people.” 

There is a pause as one of the waiters comes over with a to-go bag in his hands, setting it on the table with a small smile on his face. Stiles eyes it before looking back to Scott who already cleared his plate. 

“I should probably get this to my mom before it gets cold, she won’t get off her shift until late,” Scott says. 

Stiles nods in understanding, “don’t forget to start your english paper tonight. Oh and Scotty you better vote for us.”  

“I would if I was eighteen, but my mom is definitely on your dad’s side,” Scott smiles and stands up, making a grab for the bag. His motorcycle helmet is in one hand while the bag is in the other, “I’ll see you tomorrow unless we play some COD tonight.” 

He waves off the werewolf and watches him leave the diner. Now it is just him and sweet sweet curly fries and Stiles shouldn’t be so okay with that. He is nonetheless and he takes his time to savor every last morsel on his plate. By the time he literally has a clean plate he’s got about half of his strawberry milkshake left, so he sits in the booth all by his lonesome and works on it. It is a relatively nice day outside, the sun is out and with the exception of a couple of clouds the sky is clear and vibrant blue. 

Stiles is watching a bird fly into a nearby tree when the overhead bell for the diner’s door rings. He thinks nothing of it until he feels the hairs stick up on the back of his neck, the feeling pulls his gaze from the window to the front counter. Of all people to walk into the diner on a lazy Wednesday it had to be Derek Hale. 

Derek  _ freaking  _ Hale. 

Firstly the guy really isn’t fair and Stiles is sure he doesn’t exist. Nobody in high school has the right to be that attractive, even if he keeps to himself a lot of the time. Still he has seen the guy evolve and grow up, and now that he is a senior Stiles can say the guy really took to puberty well. Before, while still cute, there was this definite baby face going on. With the addition of bunny teeth and slightly too big ears. 

Now? 

Now Derek has grown into it all, plus he has managed to add muscles  _ and  _ facial hair no eighteen year old should be able to accomplish. Except he’s a werewolf so that kind of thing happens to most, hence why Scott looks like a damn adult and Stiles is still awkward and lanky. 

Long story short Derek Hale is one hot tamale. 

Stiles wishes he could say something about Derek himself other than his near perfect genes, but Stiles doesn’t know him very well. Like at all. Nothing. Nada. The Alpha does drive a sick Camaro though that just screams sex appeal. 

Plus Derek is actually popular, part of the other group at the top of the social hierarchy besides Jackson and Lydia. Except they aren’t known for being dicks, everyone just wants to  _ bone  _ them or  _ be  _ them.

However the more Stiles looks over at the senior the stronger this weird tingling sensation in his chest gets. He’s thinking of it like a flower getting water, the more water it gets the stronger it becomes, the more it grows. It radiates from his chest all the way to his fingers and toes then back again. 

Derek looks over from where he’s ordering right to him, eyes flashing red. 

“Oh fuck,” Stiles gasps, dropping his milkshake on the table, the plastic cup falling over and spilling the last bit of strawberry heaven on his plate. The clattering gets a few others in the diner to look over with raised looks. 

Derek shoves his wallet back into his pocket and turns to leave. Stiles flails and throws a twenty on the table before launching himself out of the booth and to his feet. It is the same set of feet that carry him out of the diner in a rush, and by some miracle he catches Derek before he can get to his car. 

“ _ Wait _ ! Derek, wait—” Stiles gasps as he reaches out and grabs Derek’s leather clad shoulder. 

The werewolf turns on his heel, suddenly looking very much like his younger self and not the adult Alpha he’s grown into. They look at each other for a moment, both of them stunned into silence for a while. Stiles is kind of afraid at the feeling running through his body, it’s new and unusual. Definitely not a bad feeling but something he’s not used to. 

He’s never claimed a mate before. 

It isn’t even a werewolf thing. Stiles doesn’t need a super sniffer to smell it, even humans can figure it out. It’s a class thing. An Alpha knows when another Alpha, Beta, or Omega is the right one for them. Same for the rest of the classes. 

They just  _ know _ . 

“I’m waiting,” Derek finally says, clearing his throat and shifting a bit nervously. 

Stiles narrows his eyes, “are you feeling this—” he pauses and waves a hand in front of his own chest, “—too?” 

“Right now? Yes,” Derek nods. 

“What do you mean right now? What other time would I be talking about?” Stiles asks. 

Suddenly the Alpha goes pale and seems at a loss for words, and of course Derek would have some sort of word kryptonite in this situation. Stiles forces himself to wait patiently because...well just because! 

“I kind of felt it before now, a few times,” Derek says slowly. 

Stiles goes slack jawed at this, “what do you mean  _ before now _ ? You knew about the bond before this?” 

“Sometimes one party feels it first? These things aren’t perfect you know.”

“I fucking know! I just—you didn’t say anything! Even as your friends—” Stiles stops dead in his tracks, at first he’s just shocked but now he’s mad because Derek totally sent his friends to look him over or whatever. 

That sucks. This sucks. 

“My friends what?” Derek asks, thick eyebrows doing some weird scrunchy thing on his face. His stupidly pretty face. 

Stiles flails angrily, “you sent Erica, Boyd, and Isaac to size me up or whatever! Look Derek I don’t know what pedestal you’re on but at the very least you could’ve talked to me yourself.” 

“I didn’t know they did that,” Derek tells him quickly, looking a little hurt himself. 

“You didn’t?” 

“No. I...told them about the bond but I told them to not do anything,” Derek says looking increasingly more pissed off about what happened. 

Stiles runs a hand through his hair, “oh.” 

“Yeah,” Derek echoes. 

Now it’s awkward and Stiles hates awkward. Seriously he can’t function with it, plus he’s kind of known for being spontaneous and biting the bullet. So the first thing that comes out of his mouth is, “our parents are running against each other….for mayor.” 

Derek rolls his eyes and Stiles is realizing they both already know that. 

“It’s probably not a good idea,” he adds, “I mean our families are pretty much at war and us being together won’t do us any good.” 

Stiles is no werewolf, but he doesn’t have to be one to feel how shitty that makes Derek feel. He feels shitty about it too, the words feel awkward leaving his mouth. He doesn’t want to do that either but his dad needs him at one hundred percent right now. Flirting with the enemy isn’t doing them any favors. Plus...seriously it is a cruel world if Derek has to be saddled with him as a mate for the rest of their lives. 

“Yeah,” Derek says after awhile, gaze getting colder, “you’re right. It’s a bad idea.” 

“So we’re on the same page then?” Stiles asks needing clarification. 

Derek nods and turns back around, making quick work of getting into his car. The sex machine on wheels comes to life and purrs in a way that Stiles only dreams his Jeep should. Then Derek is tearing out of the parking lot and speeding down the street. 

Stiles doesn’t like the cold feeling that settles in his chest.

* * *

 

School gets incredibly hard now. 

It is like every turn he makes he runs into Derek or one of his friends. Erica no longer smiles at him, Isaac looks at him like he’s literal human trash, and Boyd....well Boyd always looks some degree of pissed off. It just increases when Stiles is around. 

Scott knows, because Scott is always entitled to know important bro stuff like this. So now whenever he gets the Hale-Glare-Of-Doom ™ Scott gives him Saddest-Puppy-Eyes-Of-All-Time™ and it’s just too many looks! Too many looks for one man to handle and he wishes things could go back to the way they were. 

It’s like an all the time thought too. How is Derek? What did he have for breakfast? Did he have a good breakfast? Was it nutritious enough? He is seriously thinking about the Alpha’s eating habits during calculous sometimes. Of course there is the occasional — _ nightly _ — routine of Derek making it into his sexual fantasies when he’s dealing with stress the only way a teenage boy knows how. 

So yeah it’s a fucking constant. Not to mention the reminder in his chest that is always there, heavy and right behind his ribs. If this wasn’t a mate bond he’d go to the doctors to see if he had asthma or something. 

“Hey take a minute to— okay  _ nevermind  _ then!” Stiles huffs, leaning back against the brick wall of the supermarket. 

It’s a weekend, and instead of wallowing in his room playing WoW with online buddies he’s campaigning for his father. Bag full of buttons he  _ painstakingly  _ made, a clipboard and informational flyers in his hand; Stiles is so ready to go. 

Except nobody is giving him the time of day. Mothers put their kids in the carts and stroll past, elderly people can’t really hear him, and this asshole biker dude told him to fuck off with his capitalist propaganda shit. 

It’s hot, Stiles takes off his flannel and ties it around his waist, leaving him in a tee shirt and khakis. He glances over to the other entrance of the store, glaring at the troop of Girl Scouts that have a  _ line  _ at their table. 

So maybe he could go for a box of Thin Mints and Samoas, but he has buttons! Buttons last a lot freaking longer than cookies. 

“How’s the campaigning going?” 

Stiles jumps, blinking away from the Girl Scouts and over to the voice. He’s almost excited to talk to someone about his father but he loses it when he sees Laura Hale in front of him. She’s kind of scary but not in the way Cora is. More of a mild intimidation over blunt force scary. 

Still she’s in front of Stiles, dark hair in a messy something on her head and light eyes looking at him in a way that makes his skin crawl. She’s wearing a leather jacket which makes him think the leather fetish is a family thing. 

“Uh—fine,” Stiles blinks, “did your mother send you here for information?” 

Laura outright laughs, “ _ no _ . I’m here because my dad forgot to pick up a few things for dinner.”

“Oh, cool?” Stiles says, fingers tapping away against his clipboard. 

She looks him over, almost calculating. 

“Do you wanna sign so your vote goes to John Stilinski?” He jokes and Laura smiles at him. 

Just like that the ice is broken. 

“I will take a button just to piss my mother off,” Laura says completely serious. 

Stiles grins and gives her one of the big buttons, watching in glee as she puts it on her shirt. While Derek is probably his favorite Hale for very obvious reasons Laura can be a super close second. 

Except she takes a step closer to him, arms crossed and look hardening. Stiles wishes he could just morph with the wall then and there. 

“I don’t know what you did,” she starts, “but Derek is no longer our Der-Bear—”

“ _ Der-Bear _ ?” Stiles asks, hand slapping over his mouth to stop the laugh that so desperately wants to be let out. 

“—he’s distant, he’s moping, and I know it’s because of  _ you _ ,” she finishes. 

Derek is sad? Like actually being as angsty as Stiles is being? He really thought it was just him; Derek had been ignoring the bond before that...but that was probably because Stiles didn’t find out when he did. Stiles can feel his heart thudding in his chest and he puts up a blocker so she can’t hear it. The werewolf pauses and looks at his chest, a triumphant smirk crosses her face. Stiles huffs and deflates a bit. 

“What?” He snaps. 

“I wasn’t completely sure until you didn’t protest! You tried to hide it from me,” Laura grins, “you’re mates!” 

Stiles rushes forward and puts a hand over her mouth, “wanna scream it to the world next?”

He can feel her fangs lengthen against his palm and he rips his hand away, holding it to his chest. Her initial excitement wears a bit and she frowns, looking more sad than anything else which makes Stiles feel like an ass. 

“Why are you guys staying away from each other then?” She asks without heat. 

Stiles holds up his clipboard, “the complete mess the media will make if they find out. Plus I can’t...I gotta be there for my dad right now. Do you know how long it took to make these buttons?” 

Laura looks disappointed and Stiles feels like a shunned child. 

“Neither of you are happy,” she points out. 

“Thanks captain obvious,” he retorts. 

Laura flicks his ear and says she’ll see him around before she turns into the store. Stiles lets out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. His limbs feel shaky and the weight in his chest feels doubled now that he realizes she’s right. He’s not happy. 

Stiles walks over to the Girl Scouts and buys a box or two before making his way home. 

He is going to fix this. 

* * *

He is not going to fix this. 

Not really, but his plan is really good and only has to last until November first and then they would be in the clear. So all he and Derek need to do is just pursue dating and mating or whatever...in secret.

Nobody has to know. They can have schedules and meeting spots. Stiles is on suppressants for his heat so there isn’t any danger of that happening anytime soon. He even has the whole scent thing figured out for Derek and his family; he can use a masking spell to hide his scent and he could probably tweak it so that it fades the moment the clothing or skin is washed off.

Stiles is nothing short of a genius. 

Except maybe this time around as he waits under the bleachers of the lacrosse field like an idiot. Stiles may have totally slipped a note into Derek’s locker during his free period in hopes Derek would meet him here. There wasn’t lacrosse practice today since Finstock is out with the flu apparently, but everyone knows he’s probably recovering from a massive hangover. It means the field is empty though and nobody in their right mind would still set up a practice. 

Stiles checked his phone, it was ten minutes since the bell rang and still no sign of Derek. He probably wasn’t planning on coming, and Stiles could’ve guessed it. Since Patty’s neither of them have talked and they’ve made sure to steer clear of each other.

Derek wasn’t coming. 

He stood up with a sigh, running a hand through his hair before collecting his backpack from the ground. Stiles was a few steps away from emerging from under the bleachers when he heard his name being called out. Stiles trips on one of the bleacher supports as he tries to turn around, his body crashing against the ground and other metal supports. 

“Mother fucker!” Stiles yelps, cradling the back of his head. 

A body is hovering over him, green eyes filled with concern.  _ Derek _ . 

He gets help sitting up and Stiles mutters a spell under his breath, hands glowing softly as they heal what was probably some level of concussion. After a brief moment of dizziness passes Stiles looks over to Derek. 

“What was that?” 

“What was what?” 

Derek rolls his eyes and points to Stiles’ hands, “the glowing stuff.” 

“I simple healing spell,” Stiles shrugs, “you do know I’m a mage right?” 

“Of course I know, I’ve just never seen you do that….the magic stuff,” Derek says, helping Stiles back to his feet. 

For whatever reason the statement makes Stiles feel a little shy about having used magic. He can tell Derek isn’t appalled by it, he’s a werewolf for fucks sake. Still though it is true; he doesn’t use magic in public all that often, so no wonder Derek is a little taken back. 

Stiles nervously fiddles with his pants pockets, changing the subject with, “so you got my note then?” 

“I’m here aren’t I?” Derek asks, eyes rolling. 

“Don’t be a dick,” Stiles huffs, “I also have a plan.” 

Derek doesn’t respond with much more than a confused look so Stiles continues. 

“For us. If you want there to be, uh, an us. I want that obviously, but I totally get it if you’re not wanting a ticket on the Stilinski train….that sounded better in my head,” Stiles rambles, trying to get back on track, “we see each other in secret. I’ve mapped out all the times my dad is gone and out of the house, I made time tables for school and homework. I mean you’d have to do the same so we can make a schedule but we could work around our families. Then come November we don’t have to hide it anymore.” 

Derek hesitates before asking, “so...you want us to keep this a secret?” 

Stiles nods and pats his shoulder, “you’ve got the right idea. Plus think about it, the romance factor. Secret meetups in some romantic spot in the woods. Sneaking through windows and shit just to get five minutes alone. To me that all screams romance.” 

“Are you forgetting about my family being werewolves?” Derek asks then. 

“I have this spell, I have to tweak it still, but it’ll hide our scents on each other. Hopefully I can get it to where once our skin and clothes have been washed the spell will fade off until we come into contact again,” Stiles answers, “come on Derek I have it all figured out!” 

He pauses then, frowning. 

“Unless you don’t want to do this, then I get it,” Stiles tacks on, sounding a little pathetic to his own ears. 

“I do, but that isn’t the right way to do it. I want to be able to show us off to other people, invite you to family dinners, that kind of stuff,” Derek says softly. 

Stiles feels his heart do a funny beat in his chest at that. 

“It’s kind of our only option here Derek. Unless you feel like waiting months on end going nuts over the bond,” Stiles points out.

That makes Derek stiffen and his eyes begin to cast downwards. This isn’t easy for either of them. Of course their parents would both run for mayor at the same time and of course they are mates. Stiles wants nothing more than to bang his head on a wall for a couple of minutes. Maybe then he will be too brain dead to even comprehend the fuckery at hand. 

After a minute Derek looks back up, his lips puckering in thought, “so...we just...see each other in secret. Then in November after local elections we can see each other for real?” 

“We are seeing each other for real! It’s just us who knows about it for the first few months,” Stiles corrects. 

“Okay.” 

Stiles holds his breath, eyes widening, “okay as in okay let’s secretly date?” 

“Yes,” Derek adds his tone a little less bitter as if he is just now warming up to the idea. 

“Awesome! Holy shit, dude we’re mates,” Stiles beams, pausing as he tries to figure out how to go about a celebratory hug. Then again that can be too forward and he has no idea what Derek’s boundaries are so he lamely sticks a hand out to be shaken. 

Derek looks at his hand with a slowly rising eyebrow, his hand coming up to match it. Except Derek is pulling him closer and it’s a miracle that he doesn’t trip again. Their chests are pressing together and Derek smells like warm spices and pine which is so nice. He would willingly let himself drown in the scent because it’s that good. 

It is that right. 

Stiles pauses when he realizes they are almost the same height, and while Derek may have an inch on him it’s not much. Still his arms wrap around Derek’s shoulders and his face buries itself into Derek’s neck. Mimicking arms loop themselves around his hips which make warmth flood through him at breakneck speeds. 

“Are you naturally a good hugger or is this because of the bond?” Stiles asks softly.

There is this brief pause but then Derek is laughing and it is Stiles’ new favorite sound. 

“I’d like to think it’s a little bit of both, but I’ve been told I give good hugs,” Derek replies as his nose runs up the side of Stiles’ head. 

Stiles takes a moment to realize that his mate is a werewolf and that there will be certain things he isn’t used to. The intimate scenting, the possible possessiveness, the growling and or purring. It will all be new and the thought terrifies and excites Stiles all at once. He obviously forgot he was zoning out because the next thing he knows the contact fades and fingers snap in front of his face. 

“Huh?” 

“You okay? You smell like anxiety.” 

“Oh,” Stiles blinks, clearing his throat, “no—I mean yes, but it’s not bad...like you haven’t seen me do much magic and I haven’t really been around werewolves a lot. Well I have but I’ve never been scented by one is all. This is all really new.” 

Derek seems to understand, and after another pause speaks up again. 

“Do you want to see? Would that make you feel better?” He asks. 

Stiles raises an eyebrow, “you mean your beta shift?” 

“No my pet lizard,” Derek deadpans, “yes my beta shift.” 

“Don’t be a dick...but yes, I’d like to. Only if you’re comfortable with it,” Stiles says. 

He doesn’t get a verbal response. Instead Derek’s head his craning back as his bones and muscles contort into their primal state. The tips of Derek’s ears narrow, and the sides of his cheeks get a little furrier than usual. Green eyes bleed to red and teeth sharpen into lethal points. The thing that gets Stiles though...is the lack of eyebrows. Derek’s actual brow bone is much more severe now and the familiar fuzzy caterpillars have vanished. 

He doesn’t realize he is laughing until Derek looks a little put off. 

“Whoa—hey there, I don’t mean to laugh but,” Stiles rushes to say, hands coming up softly. Derek doesn’t move, in fact he stills like a statue as Stiles runs his fingertips along his non-existent brows, “where did they go?” 

“What?” Derek asks. 

“You’ve never noticed? You don’t have eyebrows in this form,” Stiles points out, “which...there isn’t anything wrong with that. You’re still adorable...wait no I mean extremely sexy—or I mean um…”

He decides to shut up because he’s only digging a deeper grave for himself. Derek however ends up smirking at him which looks both a little terrifying and a little hot in his shift. 

“Adorable and extremely sexy? Never been called both before,” he teases while his face returns back to it’s human form. 

Stiles feels his face flush red and he doesn’t know what to say to that, like at all. This is a lot all at once. The closest thing he has had to a girlfriend or boyfriend was Heather in the fourth grade when they dated for a week and broke up at their friend’s birthday party. Back then it was all hand holding and pretending not to care about cooties. 

Now he has Derek Hale. His mate. 

He lifts his hands up, cups them together before calling his magic forward. During his studies with Lydia and Deaton this was one of the first things they learned; manifesting their powers into a new matter-like form. It is for show more than anything else and since Lydia is a banshee her’s is smaller and a lot different. The swirling orb hovering over his cupped palms is a bright golden color, sparks flying from it and being reabsorbed. There are flecks of color in it from elements he’s learned from water to fire, then the more unnatural colors stem from chemical and spell elements he’s learned. 

Lydia’s is small, black and purple, but then again she is a beacon of death so it makes sense. 

Stiles looks up, because words are hard and this seems like a good distraction for Derek. The werewolf is wide eyed and looking at the orb with awestricken eyes. 

“Is that your magic?” Derek asks. 

“Yeah, a part of it,” Stiles nods, “but most of it stays dormant inside of me. This is just for fun...and since you showed me your shift I thought I should show you this.” 

Derek’s eyes flicker up from the orb and meet Stiles’, “thank you for showing me. I’ve never really seen magic like this.” 

“Well I’m the only person in the west coast with magic like this,” Stiles boasts as the orb fades back into his skin as if it was never there in the first place. 

They both jump, the soft mood between them vanishing as Derek’s phone goes off. The werewolf grabs it from his pocket and answers it immediately. Stiles awkwardly stands there as he can’t help but listen into the deep voice on the other end...well and also Derek’s. He strings together that it’s Derek’s father on the other end and Derek’s face says nothing but submission despite being an Alpha. 

After a minute he hangs up the phone and looks less than pleased. 

“I may have forgotten that it’s my little cousin Nathan’s birthday and I’m supposed to be home helping with setup,” Derek winces. 

Stiles nods, “shit yeah you may want to go.”

Derek hesitates before nodding and starts to turn away. 

“Hey, wait,” Stiles says while leaning down to open his backpack, “I can’t believe I forgot these! I uh, I didn’t know how this was going to go but I thought you’d like these either way so…”

He trails off as he stands up, a box of Thin Mints in his hands from the Girl Scout stand. In that moment Stiles had to pick which cookie Derek would like and chocolaty minty goodness seemed like the obvious choice. Derek is looking at the box like it is the best thing he’s ever seen and that makes Stiles feel good. 

“These are my favorite,” Derek says, grabbing them with a fond expression. 

“Really? Good, I was going out on a limb there. You seemed like a Thin Mint kind of guy,” Stiles smiles, hands crossing over his chest, “but you should probably get going.” 

“Yeah. Thanks Stiles,” Derek agrees and holds up the box of cookies. 

Stiles thinks that’s it but then there is a pair of warm lips on his cheek that make this stupid high sound leave his lips. The Alpha smirks at him almost predatory-like as he moves to leave. He got a kiss on the cheek. Derek Hale was kissing his cheek less than five seconds ago and Stiles feels like he can die happy. 

He waits until Derek is out of sight before letting out a breath, laughing a little as he grabs his backpack. So maybe his idea is actually the best idea since he got Derek and Derek got him...and cookies too. 

He totally fixed this! 

* * *

It is the first official week of summer and Stiles is loving it.

No classes, no lunchroom drama, and most importantly no Mr. Harris. Stiles secretly hopes that guy gets lemon juice repeatedly squeezed in his eyes. He will do it to, a personal fuck you since the teacher has a hard on for bullying him. 

There are other wonderful things about summer too. Most importantly he has a lot more free time to do things….like Derek things. The last month of school was uneventful and they have only seen each other a handful of times. Then again Derek is now graduated so he had a lot on his plate to do before the ceremony. So for now they have three long months of freedom to do whatever the hell the want, just as long as they do it in secret. 

He is currently drumming his fingers against the hood of his Jeep, ass firmly planted on it as well as he waits for Derek to arrive. It is already wickedly hot for early June. So hot he’s been reduced to sleeping naked with just a thin blanket trying not to sweat himself to death. 

In front of him is a small part of the creek that flows through Beacon Hills preserve, most of it flowing down west into Hill Valley before splitting of into a delta to the ocean. Like the weatherman said it is scorching out today and, instead of doing nothing but melt, swimming sounds like a good idea. 

Thankfully Derek knows of this spot, unlike the crowded masses most likely in the heart of Beacon Lake. Quiet, private, and thankfully a good distance away from the Hale house. He understands why they live in the woods, they are werewolves and they have their territory, but it’s a serious cock block sometimes. 

A few weeks ago they were almost caught by one of the Hale pack members on a run. 

That particular make out session was cut way too short for Stiles’ liking. 

His mind is wandering back to the feeling of Derek’s stubble on his neck and lips, the large hands that found their way under his shirt, and the little nips and growls that did nothing but make his arousal skyrocket. Stiles smiles lazily and leans back against the hood as a calm voice says hello to him. 

Stiles proceeds to scream and flail off the car. Except there are familiar arms around his chest that are keeping him from face planting. He is back on his feet before he can wrap his head around what just happened, so he ends up just staring at Derek for a moment. 

“You dick!” Stiles finally yells, smacking the werewolf’s arm as hard as he could which probably did little to nothing at all. 

Derek laughs and white toothy grin crosses his face that makes Stiles’ stomach swoop. 

“It’s not funny,” he protests, “I’m putting a bell on you.” 

At that Derek sobers, “no you’re not.” 

“You think you have a choice, funny Der,” Stiles smirks and leans back against the car, his hands lacing with Derek’s. 

The werewolf doesn’t respond, but instead he leans forward and buries his face into Stiles’ neck. Of course this is something Stiles has grown accustomed to and as an Omega he can’t help but relax into the feeling. Especially since Derek is an Alpha. It feels safe and right. Stiles wraps his arms around Derek’s neck to get them even closer. 

“Missed you,” Derek mutters after a while, nose making its way up to Stiles’ temple.

“I had to help my dad with the campaign. He had a press thing at city hall, and I was in charge of handling the prompted script and promotion,” Stiles says with a sigh. 

He loves his father. He loves that his father is running for mayor, he’s getting older too so a job that doesn’t mean guns and violent people is good. Except it’s a taxing thing to help run an electoral campaign. It’s a lot different running for Sheriff than for mayor that is for sure. 

“That must’ve been fun,” Derek says. 

“Oh lots. Sitting in a chair listening to mundane questions about zoning and taxes was the highlight of my week.”

“Man seems like I really missed out.” 

“Oh yeah you did Big Guy,” Stiles laughs, running his hands through Derek’s hair. 

They pull their heads back, eyes meeting and for a moment Stiles appreciates the soft look on Derek’s face. Then they’re kissing, eyes shut and shoulders relaxed. He leans in a little more onto his toes and into Derek. He doesn’t need the extra height, Derek is only an inch taller than him, but he just wants to get closer. Ever since starting this secret meeting stuff it’s like every time they leave there is never enough contact. 

Derek’s hands find the small of his back and pull him closer, tongue prodding at Stiles’ closed lips. It only takes a second for his brain to catch up and for his mouth to open, deepening the kiss to something needy and a bit filthy. He can feel his cock begin to grow heavy between his thighs and press into the material of his swim trunks. 

He jerks his head back and Derek whines. 

“I was promised swimming,” Stiles says, “and while I love making out with you can we do that in nice cool water and not here where I’m literally sweating through my t-shirt?” 

At that Derek rolls his eyes, but it’s fond and kind as he agrees with, “sure.” 

Stiles steps back and digs his phone out of his pocket and puts in into the car, stripping of his t-shirt and shoes before shoving them in as well. He leaves the Jeep doors open for Derek to put his stuff into; meanwhile he’s letting himself approach the water, toes barely meeting the liquid. It’s a deep blue, and this part of the creek is deep enough to jump into and never touch the bottom. The rock beneath his feet is a little too hot to be comfortable, but he doesn’t have the nerve to jump in yet. 

“Derek?” He asks. 

“Hmm?” 

“Push me in.” 

“What?”

Stiles turns to look at Derek, motioning to the water, “push me in. I need to do it all at once but my feet aren’t moving and—” 

Hands curl around his shoulders and swoop him up off his feet by his knees. Stiles gaps and holds onto Derek as the werewolf jumps supernaturally high before plunging them both into the water. It engulfs them entirely and it’s shockingly cold at first, but Stiles adjusts quickly and swims upwards the moment Derek lets him go. 

When he surfaces the first thing he does his shove his hair back, sputtering some water out that got into his nose. Derek comes up a moment later, doing a similar action, but instead he shakes his hair out. 

“I’m tempted to make a wet dog joke,” Stiles snickers. 

Derek freezes and eyes him for a moment. Stiles pales before he starts to swim away, cackling when he hears Derek start after him. The werewolf strength and speed is too much to compete with and he feels a hand start to slink around his ankle. 

Stiles mutters under his breath and he feels water pulsate around him, the sound of Derek splashing getting further from him. When he opens his eyes he’s back a few feet behind Derek. The werewolf stills before glancing back with an arched look. 

“Hey—you were using your abilities, I had to level the playing field!” Stiles explains.

Derek flicks water at him, “I’m fast but I can’t fucking teleport.” 

“Potato potahto,” Stiles says before moving so he’s floating on his back, face eyeing the sky above. The sun is bright but Stiles doesn’t mind it entirely. Water moves around him and a hand takes his after a while. Stiles glances over to see Derek floating beside him, eyes shut and face looking calm. In this moment he feels their bond surge a bit, chest aching and lips hurting with a grin. 

Derek Hale is his. 

Well he doesn’t own the man, but they certainly own each other’s hearts. 

They stay like that for a while, then go back to horsing around, before finally getting out by the time Stiles prunes up. Stupid fucking werewolves and their inability to actually prune. How come he has to suffer with wrinkly fingers? 

Derek grabs their towels and they take turns helping to dry each other off. 

“I brought lunch, if you’re hungry,” Stiles offers. 

“Yes please,” Derek says, eyes gooey like offering food is the direct line to his heart. 

Stiles laughs and leads Derek to the back of the Jeep, unlatching the back. Earlier this week he cleaned out the entire car and air freshened the shit out of it so it was nice for this. A blanket was spread out and a small cooler with drinks and food was in the corner. 

“It’s no five star restaurant, but I promise you I make a mean chicken salad sandwich.” 

“This is much better than a five star restaurant,” Derek says, leaning into Stiles for a kiss before climbing into the back of the Jeep. 

Stiles climbs in after him, setting his towel down first before sitting down criss cross. It’s a cozy fit but neither of them seem to mind. He opens the cooler and hands Derek one of the sandwiches, sets out the tupperware full of assorted fruit, and pulls out two Gatorades. He bought blue for himself, but red for Derek since that’s his favorite. 

“Thanks,” Derek says with a smile. 

“Of course. You have an extra sandwich in there too...since you know...werewolf metabolism,” Stiles adds.

To that Derek looks taken back before his face floods with emotion. Stiles feels his cheeks and ears burn red and he tries to hide it by eating a piece of fruit. Instead Derek snakes an arm around Stiles’ side and pulls him close. Stiles nearly chokes while swallowing the strawberry, coughing a few times before finding his breath again. 

“You good?” Derek asks. 

“Hmm? Yeah, yep, totally good here,” Stiles nods. 

Derek chuckles, “you’re ridiculous.” 

“It’s my own brand of crazy I guess.” 

“I like it.” 

“Yeah?” 

“I like it a lot.” 

“Well,” Stiles says, “that’s a relief because you’re going to be stuck with me forever in a few months. It’s good to know you like my crazy.” 

This time around it’s Derek who chokes on his food, but this time he’s laughing and Stiles laughs too while giving Derek a few good thwacks on the back for good measure. Today is a pretty good date if he says so himself. 

* * *

“I think her dad is going to shoot me,” Scott wheezed.

Stiles rolled his eyes at his friend, attention returning to his arms that are currently going numb from all the clothes Lydia is piling onto them. 

“Chris isn’t going to shoot you,” Stiles told Scott in hopes to calm him. 

Lydia clicked her tongue, “he might actually. He’s never been fond of you Scott.” 

Scott whined, hands balling up into nervous fists. 

“Lydia!” Stiles chastised which earned him a glare he’s long learned to ignore the heat of.

“I’m just saying it might happen. Allison will probably keep that from happening, but borrow one of Stiles’ dad’s bullet proof vests in case,” the banshee adds while grabbing another sundress and putting it into Stiles’ arms. 

Stiles frowns and looks at Scott who is seeming to become more and more distressed. He clears his throat and nudges his friend with a shoulder. “You’re asking her parents if she can go with you and your mom to your family reunion in San Francisco. It’s like a forty five minute drive. You’re not asking to marry her.”  

“Think of this as practice for when you do ask to marry her,” Lydia added. 

“Not helping,” Stiles shoots back. 

Lydia grins. 

“I guess,” Scott says, “maybe I can have my mom ask instead?” 

This time both he and Lydia let out groans because this is going nowhere. Stiles makes the decision to leave this to Lydia and go and get a cart. He’s getting tired and using magic will just make him more tired by the time Lydia will be done. Navigating the clothing section at Target is kind of like a maze, a very colorful maze. 

So when he finally sees the main walkway to the front of the store he feels like he’s home free. That is when his foot snags on some display and he tumbles to the ground, the clothes in his arms flying everywhere, and not even seconds later he’s hearing giggling around him and a few gasps. 

A part of him wants to melt into the floor or teleport the hell out of here. 

When he feels his chest clench with the mate bond Stiles freezes and finds it in himself to look up. The first thing he sees are a pair of tan female legs and very expensive looking sandals. 

Talia Hale is right in front of him, Laura at her side, Derek just past her, a man and a woman he’s never seen before by their cart with a pair of young twins in the basket. They were the source of the giggling of course, the little boy and girl obviously finding the whole thing hilarious. 

Meanwhile Talia is staring at him with an arched look, Laura looks a mix of humored and mortified, all the while Derek looks like he’s been impaled. 

“Stiles Stilinski,” Talia speaks up, arms now crossed, tone playful “for being the most powerful mage this side of the Rocky Mountains I expected a little more grace.”

Clearing his throat he picks himself up, hands dusting himself off, “uh...yeah well Stilinskis aren’t really known for their grace. If you want sarcasm and clever wit then step right up.” 

What he didn’t expect was for Talia and a few others to laugh at that. Usually his attempts to lighten the mood fail. 

“Here,” the woman by the cart says, stepping forward. Now a little closer she can see the relation between her and the rest of the Hales. Maybe an aunt or cousin. “Let me help.” 

When she makes a move to grab Lydia’s clothes Stiles just holds out his hand to make her pause. He focuses on the clothes he dropped and waves his hand around, watching as they gather in the air into a neat little pile and land into his extended arms. 

Stiles glances back to Talia, and yeah maybe he did that just to show off a little. 

“Whoa! Daddy did you see that?” One of the kids in the cart exclaim. 

The man nods to them, obviously used to his kid’s easy wonder. 

“So how’s your father’s campaign going?” Talia asks. 

Laura sucks in a breath and looks to her mother, “uh Mom I don’t think—”

“It’s just a question darling,” the Alpha brushes off. 

Stiles looks at Derek and Laura and shrugs before looking back to Talia, “it’s good. I have been spending the summer helping him with PR gigs and getting signatures for voters. Thankfully he does the heavy legal stuff so I get to have a little relaxation before school.” 

It’s not like he’s also spent half his summer fooling around with her eldest son who happens to be his mate. It’s totally not like three days ago they sucked each other off. Nope. No. He’s also forcing his brain not to think about that right now because he knows they could all smell his arousal if he keeps thinking about that. 

“You?” He squeaks. 

“Good. My pack is helping with recruiting voters and I am trying my best to catch up to your father in the race. I am a rather late candidate,” Talia says calmly, a motherly smile on her freckled face. 

He can’t stop the snort that escaped him, so he rolls with it, “well not to step on any toes here but you’re the Alpha of one of the biggest west coast territories. I think you’ve secured more than enough votes to be a player in the race.” 

“Thank you, but I believe you’re underestimating your father. He’s a well known and respected man, many voters may go to him because he has the unbiased view when it comes to supernatural issues. I’ve gotten quite the talking to about being biased to my own kind,” Talia shrugs, “but I appreciate the kind words.” 

“Uh sure," he nods not really sure how to process that information. He’s never viewed her like that before, but he can see it now. How some voters may not like the hypothetical of her spinning the office to favor supernaturals.

Not that she’d do that. From what he knows of her she’s a kind and respectable woman. 

“Of excuse me, I haven’t introduced you to my family,” Talia says suddenly, tucking a dark strand of hair behind her ear. She points to the two parents and the twins, it’s her sister Katherine and her husband James plus their twins Seth and Samantha. 

Stiles is starting to notice a pattern here with children of Hales. Sam and Seth. Laura and Cora. If he and Derek have children it will be nothing that rhymes. God help him if he finds a name that could even rhyme with his legal name. 

“This is my eldest—” Talia goes on. 

“Mom I’ve met Stiles, he gave me that Vote For Stilinski pin a few months ago,” Laura interjects, a toothy grin on her face. 

Talia raises another eyebrow, “oh really? Hmm, that pin is still sitting on our mantle at home.” 

Stiles laughs a little, “it’s a quality pin if I say so myself.

“It got Peter to laugh so I’d say so too,” James adds in, getting a smirk from a few others. 

Talia clears her throat and finally... _ finally _ points to Derek who looks like a deer in headlights, “and this is my eldest son Derek. You’re just behind him in school correct?” 

Stiles feels his throat want to stop working for a moment but he manages a small, “uh yeah. I saw him around before he graduated.” 

It’s not technically a lie...but he’s definitely seen Derek a lot more than just around. 

“Hmm I feel like you two would’ve been fast friends had you been in the same class,” Talia frowns. 

Laura is now a little nervous as well, Stiles almost has enough energy to appreciate the sympathy from her. 

“He, uh he hangs out with the lacrosse kids,” Derek speaks up, finally saying something, “I kept mostly to Isaac, Erica, and Boyd so…” 

Talia shrugs, “no excuse to expand your horizons Derek.” 

Laura snickers, the twins start getting impatient, and Lydia is suddenly calling out to him from wherever clothing isle she’s in right now. Stiles glances towards her and Scott before looking back to the Hales. 

“I, uh, have to go. Lydia and Scott needed me to get them a cart,” Stiles says, “but I was nice to run into you and your family Mrs. Hale.” 

“Jesus I’m not my mother Stiles. Call me Talia,” the Alpha says looking a little distraught from the name. 

“Talia. Got it,” Stiles nods. 

Laura sighs and walks right passed him, patting his head as she went, “well we need to go too. Nice seeing you Cupcake.” 

Stiles freezes up and frowns, “did she just call me—?”

“That’s just Laura being Laura,” Derek huffs much to his mother’s amusement. 

Lydia yells again and he waves, starting to walk passed the Hales. Derek give him a small look, a small reserved smile Stiles knows it just for him. Stiles thinks of an phantom feeling spell, hopping it feels like a kiss on the cheek for Derek. When he sees the wolf flush deeply he knows he got it right. 

Eventually Stiles gets a cart and shoves all of Lydia’s clothes into it, returning to the two he left a while ago. The redhead looks very upset and Scott looks a bit terrified. 

“What do you think of this? White or green?” Lydia snaps, holding up a floral dress in two different colors. 

“White, green will clash with your hair too much,” Stiles says instantly. 

The banshee calms down then, glaring at Scott for a moment, “he said green because I’d look like Poison Ivy. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” 

Stiles looks from her to Scott, “while I’m so proud of your comic reference, don’t say shit like that to her while shopping.” 

“Yeah I got it,” Scott said, dumping what was in his arms into the cart, “so what took you so long?” 

“Oh...I had to wait for them to get carts from the outside. There weren’t any inside,” Stiles lies...because he feels like he has to. He’s not quite ready yet to tell anybody about the Hales. About anything to do with Derek. Laura and Derek’s friend group knows and that already four people too many for Stiles’ liking. 

“Weird,” Scott says. 

“Yeah, super weird buddy,” Stiles agrees. 

Lydia rolls her eyes, “yes yes very weird. Now come on, I need to look at shoes.” 

* * *

Stiles wants to die so very badly in this moment. Not because he is in pain but because he is so bored sticking his eyes with pins actually sounds good. His eyes flicker up to the clock on the wall of whatever room they were in at city hall. It has only been an hour and this thing still has two more to go. 

Who the hell knew running for mayor would involve so many conferences. 

Currently he is sitting on a rather uncomfortable rolling chair in the corner, taking notes for his father to go over when it is all over. At this point the notes, while thorough, have doodles running up and down the sides of them. The rocket ship he is working on is probably the best thing he’s ever drawn. 

After a while he looks up to the clock again, seeing only fifteen more minutes have passed. 

For whatever reason he is getting antsy, his leg is jiggling up and down, meanwhile this cold sweat type thing is running up and down his spine. Stiles freezes then, eyes going wide as he fumbles for his phone and checks his calendar. 

In the chaos of his life he forgot to get his heat prevention shot. 

Shit. 

His heat is here.

Double shit.

Stiles gulps in a lungful of air, hands shaking as he clumsily stands up which promptly interrupts the whole conference. His father, currently at the podium looks over with a mix of concern and worry. 

“I—have to, uh, I need a moment outside,” he tells them, his voice sounding raw. 

He grabs his notes as well as his backpack, stumbling out of the room and into the nearly empty halls. A woman in a power suit near the water cooler gives him a weird look. Stiles ignores her and rushes to the front of city hall. Shaky fingers unlock his phone and call the first number that comes to mind. 

Derek. 

His tongue darts out to lick at quickly drying lips, the dial tone blaring in his ears as he descends the front stairs. By the time the fifth ring goes off he’s sure Derek isn’t going to answer. Except it stops and a small nervous voice that by no means is Derek begins to speak. 

“Hello?” 

Stiles blinks, trying to think straight, “hello? Who is this? Where is Derek?” 

“Hi! My name is Nathan—” 

“Derek’s cousin?” Stiles asks, vaguely recalling that from memory.

“Hey yeah!  _ Wait—how _ did you know that?”

“I’m a friend of Derek’s...where is he?” 

“Training with the pack,” Nathan says bluntly. 

Stiles pauses, running a hand through his hair, “can you give him the phone please? Tell him it is very important.” 

There is a moment where he’s not sure if Nathan hung up or not. Then the kid is screaming for Derek with his mouth still close to the phone, practically destroying his eardrum. He winces and pulls the phone away from his ear for a moment, rubbing at the assaulted ear before bringing it back. 

He can hear small conversation, some shuffling, and then…

“What’s up?” Derek asks. 

Stiles wants to sob, but sticks to the code they worked out for emergencies, “you want to hear a knock knock joke?” 

It’s mundane, silly, and he can tell Derek is moving away from prying ears on his side. There is a sound of a door before Derek is prompting him to speak. This time around he lets out a small noise of distress. 

“I forgot my shot and I’m going into heat,” he says quickly, because why not just rip off the bandaid?

There is a moment of silence, followed by a low growl.

“Please don’t revert to monosyllabic caveman speak right now, I really need you to come get me,” Stiles whines. 

“Where are you?” Derek asks. 

“City Hall—”

“People are going to see us.” 

Stiles looks around and then starts walking, “—then I’ll walk down to the nearby park on 5th?” 

“Stiles—how are we suddenly going to vanish for a few days? My instincts are going nuts right now to... _ provide _ for you, but it sounds like something that’ll get us caught,” Derek says, voice tight and already as rough as Stiles’. 

This is incredibly disappointing to hear, it actually makes him sick to his stomach. He knows Derek is probably right, but having  _ his _ Alpha try and reject him right now of all times? It is cruel.

His body continues to ache. 

“Whatever, I’ll deal with it myself then, wouldn’t want to get caught,” Stiles bites out. 

“You’re not in the right state—”

“Fuck off Derek, I’m fully capable of making my own decisions.” 

“I didn’t say you were incapable. I just think when this is over you’ll appreciate this decision.”

Stiles rolls his eyes, “fine.” 

“Don’t be like this, please,” Derek says, and despite the whine in his tone Stiles forces himself to end the call and shove his phone into his pocket. The last thing he wants is to be around people right now, and if he calls Scott or one of Derek’s friends for a ride he’ll probably break down and tell them everything. 

Already he feels so tired and heavy, but he calls on his spark letting it foam at his fingertips before letting it out fully. There is a moment where he feels the breath leave him as the world melts and shifts around him until he’s standing in his room. It’s not the longest distance he’s ever traveled through teleportation but it certainly took a lot out of him. 

Stiles sets his things on his desk before stripping down to his boxers and making his way towards the bathroom. A cold sweat is already starting to make his skin feel tacky. This is the part of being an Omega that sucks, and using his magic to fend it off tends to make the next one more violent and unsafe. 

Usually he doesn’t really care if he has to go through a heat, if he misses a shot he misses one. This time is different though because Derek exists in his world now, Derek is his mate, his future Alpha, and now for the first time he  _ really _ has to go through his heat alone. 

The shower starts up and the spray is icy, exactly what he needs. 

Stiles steps under it and he feels cooler despite how much the water nips at his skin. He takes the time to wash his hair and body before it becomes too late and he’s too heat drunk. The unscented soap is soft and foamy in the wash cloth but does little to fade the itch under his skin. By the time he dries himself off and returns to his room to slip on a fresh pair of boxers he feels a little shakier than usual.

He is debating if he should go make some food when his phone goes off. Stiles walks over and grabs it, glancing at the phone number he doesn’t know. 

He has bad habits, he answers it. 

“Hello?” 

“Stiles, hey...so Derek texted me to call you and ask if you were mad at him,” Erica’s voice sounds from the other end.  

Stiles runs a hand through his hair, yanking at the strands a bit, “am I mad my mate and Alpha won’t come over and help me through my heat? What do you think Erica?” 

There is a pause from the other end before she continues with, “on a scale though would that be like a six out of ten?”

“Oh my god! Just tell him it’s fine he’s probably right,” Stiles barks out before hanging up. 

He forgoes food as he just flops down on the bed, letting out a frustrated noise into his pillow. After another moment he hears his phone ring and he is about ready to strangle Derek in the most unsexy way. For a moment his hand flails blindly until he grabs his phone and answers it. 

“Stop fucking calling me—”

“Whoa there son, just me,” his father says and Stiles goes silent, “want to tell me why you rushed out?”

“Oh, Dad hey. Uh yeah sorry about that. Scott was trying to bug me for homework,” Stiles evades before turning over in bed so he was staring at the ceiling, “I forgot my shot this month. My heat hit me suddenly.”

His dad mutters a few colorful words, “I’ll stop by the store and grab some Gatorades and protein bars. Sound good?”

“Yeah sounds good,” he agrees. 

They exchange goodbyes and hang up, and Stiles is all alone. 

* * *

It is the morning of day five when his heat breaks.

He hasn’t even opened his eyes yet and he feels better. Better meaning he isn’t withering in bed trying to soothe the piercing ache that comes with heats. His mouth feels dry like cotton and his limbs feel heavy. The whole time he had his phone off and he did his best to have his thoughts not to fade to Derek. 

The one time he did he burst into tears and then had the best orgasm.

Still he did his best to just get through it and have it over with. 

It is now and he feels so much better, so he cracks his eyes open and winces at the sunlight coming through is windows. Before he can even adjust to the light he catches a figure at his desk chair and it scares the shit out of him. Stiles goes straight into defensive mode and levitates and chokes the poor fucker. 

So maybe he’s ripping off Darth Vader; it’s cool, simple,  _ and  _ lethal. 

Stiles tightens the grip until he wakes up enough to notice who it is. Derek’s face is a deep red and the werewolf is flailing and clawing around his neck trying to find release. He drops the hold and Derek goes crashing to the floor, gasping and gagging. 

“What the fuck were you doing?” Stiles cries out and throws himself off the bed and onto the floor next to Derek. 

Derek looks up, finally gaining his breath back, looking a little nervous as he points to Stiles’ desk. On it is a McDonalds bag which probably contains a million breakfast items if the amount of grease on it is any indication. 

“I wanted to check up on you...give you some food and see if you still were mad at me.”

Stiles lets out a sigh and shakes his head as he scoots closer to Derek and wraps his arms around the other man. The return of the embrace makes him shudder a bit, his face jamming itself into Derek’s neck. They both have their moment of silence, just taking the moment to hold each other close after the five day break. 

Eventually though Derek pulls back, face a bit red as he points out, “you’re naked.”

Stiles feels his cheeks turn to flames as he grabs his comforter and drapes it across himself, “yeah...but you’ve seen everything I have to offer before.” 

“I know, but not right after heat—that plus the smell in here—” Derek choppily explains. 

To that Stiles realizes how alive Derek’s senses are at the moment, especially with how it smells in here. He focuses on the windows and they slide open to let some air flow in and filter the scents. He is about to ask how Derek even got in but then again he sees a slight muddy shoe scuff on the window sill, so that provides the answer. He can’t tell if he’s wooed at the cheesy romantic or creeped out by the window jumping thing. 

He decides to not dwell on it. 

Instead he focuses back on Derek who, for a lack of a better description, looks like shit. There is this heaviness in and around his eyes, his shoulders are tense, and if Stiles isn’t mistaken the Alpha probably hasn’t shaved in a day or two. His hand comes up and runs itself down the overgrown stubble. Freaking werewolves and their lovely body hair. 

“I think I’m still a little bitter I couldn’t spend my heat with you,” Stiles frowns, noting the hurt in Derek’s eyes as he continues with, “but I know it was probably for the best. I wouldn’t have been able to focus on deterrent spells and go through my heat anyways.”  

Derek nods, “it threw me through a loop too. I was doing everything I could to stop myself from coming here too soon.” 

“Oh  _ such _  a caring Alpha you are, having to hold yourself off from helping out little ‘ole me,” Stiles teases, getting Derek to roll his eyes but laugh a little. He leans in for a quick kiss and a hug, leaning them back just enough for his hand to grab hold of the fast food bag. 

Derek pulls back, eyeing the bag with a smirk on his face, “you only love me because I bring you food.” 

Stiles grins for a split second before pausing, hand halfway in the bag and fingers barely grazing a hashbrown, realizing what Derek just said. It was natural, causal, and Stiles has never felt his heart do the things it was currently doing in his chest. His eyes flicker up to Derek’s who is looking at him with a bit of concern, obviously picking up on the change. 

“I do,” he breaths, trying to keep his voice steady. 

“You do what?” Derek prompts as his eyebrows furrow together in confusion. 

“I love you,” Stiles says. 

He feels like he’s at ground zero of a bomb site; the silence in the room is deafening. Derek is just sitting there looking like he was just punched in the gut, and logically Stiles knows Derek probably feels the same. They are  _ mates  _ for fucks sake. This is still his first time saying I love you to someone and if he’s being honest Derek is his first love. 

As quick as the silent awkwardness came though it left, the food nearly squished by a sudden arm full of werewolf. Stiles lets out a squeak when lips start peppering his neck and face with a million tiny kisses that make him feel all warm and fluttery. 

Their bond feels stronger in this moment, his chest feeling light and airy while stupidly tight at the same time. Stiles jerks his face back, his hands moving to cup Derek’s cheeks so they’re looking at each other again. For a moment he thinks how ridiculous they look; a naked mage and clothed Alpha werewolf jumbled up on the floor with McDonald's probably spilled all over the floor. 

“I love you too,” Derek mutters, voice so careful and soft that Stiles knows what he’s been given is something special.

Stiles grins wide, like so wide his eyes and nose scrunch up a bit, and he leans in to kiss Derek for real. His arms loop around the older’s neck while his eye flutter shut. Derek’s arms wrap themselves around his hips, sitting back so Stiles was pulled forward onto his lap. He is so very aware that the only thing separating his nakedness from Derek is his blanket, and he wants nothing more than to get rid of it. 

Blunt human nails scratch down his bare back now that it is exposed, and that paired with the air in the room makes him shiver and goosebumps crawl across his skin. Stiles whines low when Derek breaks the kiss but Derek makes up for it by biting and kissing along his jaw and neck. He can’t tell if Derek’s teeth are completely human or not, but he knows that what Derek is doing with these little suckling bites feels fantastic. 

It makes arousal pool in his gut and his body feels warmer with each passing second. 

Their kisses aren’t harsh or aggressive, they are just regular  _ we just confessed that we straight up love each other _ kisses. On their own accord his hands begin moving up to tangle into Derek’s hair, his thin fingers doing their best to get lost in the inky strands. Before he can really process it Derek’s grip moves to his thighs doing two things. First it traps the blanket between them and presses his dick uncomfortably against the material, and it also allows Derek to stand up and move them off the floor and onto the bed. 

“Com’ere,” Stiles mutters, successfully detaching Derek from his neck and kissing him properly. Their noses occasionally smush together and for what they lack in finesse enthusiasm makes up for it. After a while of making out and occasionally rolling their hips he feels Derek put a hand in between them, pulling the covers away and shoving them off the bed. 

It leaves Stiles fully naked on the bed, skin splotchy and a bit too warm. For Stiles this screams unfair so he sits up, which prompts Derek to sit on his heels allowing Stiles to undress him. 

“You’re okay with this right?” Stiles asks, knowing Derek had been clear on not having sex during his heat. It’s technically over though, so really this is  _ just  _ sex, not  _ heat  _ sex.

Derek pauses for a moment, and Stiles can see the eighteen year old shyness creep through the grown man appearance. They’ve done a lot since the start of summer, but going for a full home run is something they haven’t done. Maybe he’s a little nervous too, mostly for good reasons over bad ones. Mostly because he’s with Derek and whenever he’s around Derek he just feels all kinds of nervous butterflies. 

“Yeah, I am. Are you?” Derek confirms, shooting the same question right back to Stiles. 

Stiles swallows and nods, “yeah, me too.” 

With that things seem to move pretty swiftly from there, Derek is down to nothing within the next minute. The minute after that they’re strung out on the bed beside each other, lazily kissing while their hands wander and explore. Derek’s steady touch on his hip bone is grounding as his own hand slithers down between them, his bitten nails raking through coarse chest hair as it shifts into even coarser pubic hair. 

Derek’s cock is standing at attention, curving up slightly, foreskin stretched around the engorged head. Stiles teases for a moment, fingers trailing to his thighs and hips, getting oh so close before pulling away. 

“ _ Stiles _ ,” Derek whines, like actually whines, which makes Stiles look up. 

The Alpha is already strung thin, eyes bleeding to their red color which makes Stiles’ spine tingle. He shushes the wolf before leaning off the bed just enough to reach his bedside table to grab the lube he’s been using. It’s half gone but it’s still enough for now. Stiles gets up on his knees, moving so he’s straddling Derek’s legs. 

“I got you babe,” Stiles mutters, popping the cap on the lube and putting some into his hands. He warms it in his hand before finally getting a hand on Derek’s dick, coating it evenly before he even begins to do something rhythmic. 

Derek’s eyes flutter shut, one hand fisted in the sheets and the other grabbing at Stiles’ thigh. The pressure on his thigh is grounding, urging his hand to keep pleasuring Derek. His thumb swipes the tip every few upstrokes and he makes sure his grip loosens and tightens every now and then. 

He is enjoying the relaxed pleasured state he has Derek in at the moment, there is a wonderful flush working its way into his tanned skin. The way Derek’s mouth is slightly parted and the way his eyebrows are slightly crunched up make Stiles feel so good. He’s the one giving Derek that kind of pleasure; it almost makes him want to scream it from the rooftops. 

Stiles Stilinski can give Derek Hale great pleasure and orgasms. 

Leaning down they kiss again, tongues meeting in the middle, making both of them a little breathless. Derek’s hands run up his thighs, kneading at his ass for a moment. It makes Stiles arch up, his own hand stilling on Derek’s cock when a dry finger runs across his not so dry hole. The growl that comes from Derek breaks the kiss and the noise shoots right down to the base of Stiles’ spine. 

He looks up at Derek with a raised eyebrow, “I’ve been fingering myself and using toys for the past five days Derek...plus I’m an Omega, don’t act so surprised.” 

Stiles knew it was a bit teasing for him to say but it had Derek’s eyes darkening significantly and another inhuman growl ripped from this throat. 

“So you’re—?” 

“Technically ready? Yes,” Stiles nods, voice a little strained. 

Derek sits up then, and Stiles remains on his lap but now his ass is pretty much sitting directly on Derek’s crotch. Holy shit he’s not going to make it very far. Beneath his skin he can feel his magic humming softly, it makes his skin feel like its electric and the room around him wash away. 

Tender kisses are pressed to his jaw as he reaches behind him, grabbing at Derek’s cock and rubbing it across his hole a few times just to get used to the feeling of something other than his fingers or a dildo there. The werewolf holds him tight by the small of the back, hips bucking up a bit. Stiles feels the air get sucked out of him as he finally eases onto Derek. 

It’s slow, because no matter how open and wet he is this is still new, especially for Derek. His hands grip Derek’s shoulders firmly, his teeth biting hard into his already kiss swollen lips. A couple of seconds pass before he rolls his hips slowly, every time he takes more and more of Derek in until he’s sitting flush on Derek’s lap. 

Stiles lets out a breathless gasp, skin too hot and ass feeling full. Derek’s face is buried in his neck, a continuous rumbling growl. Within his chest his heart feels like it’ll break bone with how hard it’s beating, every sense he has feels magnified by tenfold. 

“I’m—I’m gonna…” he grits out, but lets his actions speak for him as he lifts himself up before going back down, heat and pleasure exploding within him. Derek holds him by the hips, helping out a little as Stiles finds his momentum, riding the other man with urgency. He rolls his hips occasionally and when his cock brushes on Derek’s abs he’ll clench down which only makes things better. 

“Oh fuck,” Derek groans, hips bucking up to meet Stiles’. 

It’s then the angle changes and Stiles feels Derek brush against his prostate with every other thrust or so. It makes his head and back arch a bit more, moans dripping from his mouth. His whole body feels tight like a rubberband; the mate bond is singing between them while the Alpha and Omega dynamic is pressing all the right buttons. 

“You should—,” Stiles gasps, slowing the pace just a bit, “—you should knot me.” 

Derek stills. Stiles swears he can hear the  _ fisk  _ of claws erupting from Derek’s nail beds. 

“Stiles,” Derek says lowly, green eyes flicking up to look right at Stiles, “are you sure?” 

“I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t sure,” Stiles points out, and everyone who ever paid attention in school knows most mate pairs can’t even conceive before mating is complete. As much as the thought of how their kid would have the cutest nose and sharpest facial features appeals to him, he’s a senior in high school and Derek’s going to start college after elections. 

No babies. Not yet. 

“I love you,” Derek mutters, voice wrecked. 

Stiles blinks away the slight sting in his eye as he nods, moving his hips again while leaning in for a kiss, “I love you too.” 

From then on it’s just a lustful mess. Soft caring touches are mixed with impatient pleas. The moment Derek snarls in the shell of Stiles’ ear is when he feels the knot graze his ass with every downward motion. It makes a rush of excitement run through him as he picks up the pace despite the burn in his thighs. 

Derek’s hand, which is thankfully no longer clawed and suddenly lubed, wraps around his cock and starts jerking him in time with the thrusts. It makes his toes curl and stomach flex with an impending orgasm. 

“Oh my god,” Stiles whines as he manages to sink all the way down, Derek’s knot making him unable to go back up. It only takes a few more strokes to his own cock mixed with the knot inside of him for him to finally climax. He flutters around Derek, milking the werewolf through his own orgasm while he makes a mess of their chests. 

When he opens his eyes he only catches the tail end of Derek’s orgasm, but it makes Stiles feel even more gooey and doped up. His hand comes up and runs itself through Derek’s hair, a small smile crossing his face while he tries to ignore the feeling of his jizz drying on his skin. 

“You’re so pretty when you cum,” Stiles says. 

Derek smirks, kissing him softly before moving them into a new position. It’s just them lying on their sides, Stiles’ leg draped over Derek’s hip, both of them face to face. Derek is reaching over the edge of the bed, and Stiles is too busy catching his breath to notice what he is doing until he emerges with McDonald’s napkins. 

“Smart,” he mutters, exhausted despite waking up a little bit ago. 

“I know,” Derek sasses to which Stiles totally flicks his ear for. 

After a moment, when their chests are pretty clean Stiles looks to Derek, “can you grab me a hashbrown, I really hate eating them cold.” 

Derek pauses before laughing, head back and nose crinkled kind of laughing, before reaching into the bag and returning with two. 

“You’re the best,” Stiles grins through a giant bite. 

“Hmm so I’ve been told,” Derek sighs contently, “shut up and eat your hashbrown.”

Stiles snickers but does as told, enjoying their perfect moment. 

* * *

Things after that are good, sometimes complicated, but mostly good. 

Erica, Isaac, and Boyd went to registration with him for senior year since Scott was out of town on a small beach vacation with his mom. It was fun and also went much better than their first meeting last year, and to be perfectly honest he’s a little sad they weren’t friends sooner.

The polls have been rising for both parties steadily. All the local news stations have been covering it, and one report even gave the likelihood of winning; his father came out on top. Stiles was very excited, mostly because his father wants this job but also because it’s a job he’s less likely to be shot in the line of duty. 

Still Talia is a fierce competitor.

She did this thing where she practically invited the whole town to the biggest park in Beacon Hills and provided BBQ and games. Lets just say Stiles totally went and lets just say Derek’s father knows how to make a mean cheeseburger. 

Patty’s is still his favorite but that cheeseburger is a very close second.  

That particular event had been really hard because while he and Derek casually made eye contact every once in awhile they really couldn’t be together. Not because it would be weird to see them talking, but because Stiles is a very physically clingy person just like Derek. There would be no way in hell they’d be able to keep their hands off each other. 

He had to hang out with Allison and Scott while texting Derek every sappy thing they said. When he mentioned Scott called her “ _ shnookums _ ” he caught Derek laughing out loud. The noise pulled attention to the poor Alpha who corrected himself and put his phone away, that got Stiles to laugh as well. 

Now summer is over, senior year is already feeling too easy, and he hates not being able to see Derek as much. Derek is no longer in school so it’s not like they can even see each other in the halls. No, he usually waits until the weekend when he isn’t helping his father out to see Derek. Then it’s usually only for an hour or so before they have to part ways. 

Stiles has needs. He has Derek needs that are not being filled. 

It makes him anxious, and sometimes the weight of the bond in his chest turns sour knowing he won’t be able to be with Derek for extended periods of time. They text, like all the freaking time, but even then it feels distant and cold. 

This sucks Stiles decides as he looks into the bathroom mirror, breaking from his thoughts. 

He’s in a white button up and a black tie with matching black slacks and shoes. Hell his father even has him wearing his watch for special occasions. He draws the line at a suit jacket though, it’s California and it’s hot. Today is the day where they stuff themselves into city hall for election day and that coupled with the heat is enough to make Stiles whine. 

“You good son?” His father asks, leaning against the door frame, looking sharp in his own suit. 

Stiles nods, fixing his collar one last time, “yeah. I just hate the heat. I think we should move to Canada.”

His father laughs, an easy smile crossing his face, “you’re out of your mind. Way too cold for my old self.” 

“Dad you’re still spry, you got a little left in you—I see those heart eyes you have for Melissa.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” his father says, face heating up, “meet me at the car in five minutes.”

“You’re terrible at evading things!” Stiles calls with a huff of laughter as his father descends the stairs. With that he turns back to the mirror, fiddles with his hair because there is this one strand that doesn’t want to lay with the others, before finally meeting his father at the car. 

He finds his father at the wheel, eyes closed and talking to himself. Well, Stiles knows he’s really talking to Mom, but it still makes him pause for a little and wait for his father to have his moment. When his father looks up Stiles meets his gaze with a smile and gets into the car. 

They pull out of the driveway and Stiles watches as the trees and suburban area slowly morph into the more urban city center. The closer they get the more people there are, obviously the whole town is ready to meet their new mayor. The buzz is in the air, he can feel it. By the time they pull up to city hall police from the station are lined up to protect them, gates hold back the general population. Stiles’ eyes trail up the front steps where the current mayor is chatting with some of the Hales. Their entire family is there, even baby Vivian who is Derek’s newest cousin. 

“She’s proud of you Dad,” Stiles finds himself saying, tearing his eyes away from the Hales and back towards his father, “I’m proud of you too.” 

He can see the tension fade a bit in his father’s shoulders and his light eyes soften to something Stiles hasn’t seen in a long time. They pull in for a hug, tight and steadying, and Stiles loves his dad so much. If he didn’t he wouldn’t make both of them eat tofu and veggies three out of seven nights a week for dinner. 

“Thank you Stiles,” his father says clasping him on the shoulder, “now let’s go out and do what Stilinskis do best and kick ass.” 

Stiles grins and gets out of the car, suddenly bombarded with noises of the crowd who are now louder because his father is here. He now sees the festive decor and the podium set up to a sound system. Before he knows it his father is at his side and they’re being escorted to the front of city hall. He does what he’s been trained to do; wave, smile, say hello, and repeat. 

At the front of the building Mayor Wilson is walking towards them, her greying brown hair in a tight updo that looks effortless but Stiles knows better. There is probably a million and one hair pins in it. 

“Mr. Stilinski, welcome and best of luck to you,” Wilson says, smile genuine.

It’s obvious she’s tired, she’s been in office for two terms, she’s ready to pass the torch. 

“Thank you Mayor Wilson, whatever the outcome is, Beacon Hills will be in good care,” his father says while shaking her hand. 

It brings another bright smile on her face, nodding with the words, “I believe so as well. Now if you'll excuse me I need to meet with a few others before we begin.” 

The woman nods at both of them before side stepping them and heading off to to wherever she is needed. Stiles watches her go until she’s lost in the throng of people, eyes flickering back to his father who looks a little pale as his own eyes scan the massive crowd. It seems like the reality has set in, because really who wouldn’t be nervous upon waiting to find out if they won an election. 

“You’re about to burst a blood vessel Pops, take a breath,” Stiles says calmly. 

It breaks his father’s trance and the man manages an affirmative noise, “I’ll be fine, but could you get me a bottle of water if you can find one?” 

“Sure thing, don’t wander off too far,” Stiles agrees and sets off to find water for his father. It really isn’t too hard to find the small snack table shoved off to the side of the main staged area. A few people are milling about it, trying small horderves and various drinks. Stiles approaches the table, grabbing a bottle of water when a hand taps his shoulder. He turns around to catch a glimpse of dark hair and light eyes. Not the ones he’s grown used to over the summer, it’s Laura who looks rather stunning in her deep wine colored dress and nude lipstick. 

“I see operation girl scout cookies went well,” she mutters softly, a twinkle in her eye. 

Stiles can’t wait until tonight when they can drop the code names and openly talk about everything. 

He nods his smile feeling dopey on his face as he thinks about Derek, “yeah it did. Thin mints did wonders, I should really write the troop a thank you letter.” 

Laura laughs, snorting a little which Stiles fully intends to tease her about from now on. She steps into his space and hugs him tight. Stiles hugs her back but when he tries to let go she holds him firm. 

“I’m sorry you two had to hide it for so long,” Laura says so faintly he thinks he’s imagining it. 

Stiles watches as she waves him off and walks away, back into the massive crowd of people. He swallows thickly, teeth worrying at his lips at how much sorrow was in her tone. Derek’s claim on how much mates mean to his family suddenly feels amplified, and he feels like an ass for hiding it. Except at the same time that would’ve shifted the spotlight of the election and he didn’t want that to skew votes. 

Too late now to feel sorry about it, instead he walks back to his father who is near the podium. His fingers are twiddling with his wedding band, but the moment Stiles hands the water over he twiddles with the bottle instead. His eyes catch familiar faces in the crowd; Scott and Melissa, Lydia and her mother, even Finstock and Greenberg have shown up which is both gross and wonderful.

It doesn’t take long for the news crew to set up and for Mayor Wilson to take the podium. The crowd falls into a quiet hush and Stiles manages to make eye contact with Derek who is on the other side of the podium. The sheer size of the Hale family must be hilarious compared to the two man duo he and his father are. The Alpha gives him a quick soft look before nodding for them both to pay attention to the results. 

“Good afternoon citizens of Beacon Hills, I hope you’re all doing well on this unusually warm November day. I first want to thank all volunteers and civic workers who helped with the election and voting poles, without them this wouldn’t be possible. I also want to thank all citizens who took the time to vote for one of our two lovely candidates,” Wilson says pausing for a moment as one of her workers hands her an envelope 

Stiles feels his heart skyrocket in his chest. 

The suspense in the air is so thick he could practically taste it. 

Wilson flicks open the envelope and pulls out a card, smiling softly before sealing it again and looking at the crowd. 

She breathes in deep before continuing with, “it is my honor to step down as Mayor of Beacon Hills and congratulate Jonathan Stilinski as your new mayor.”   

Stiles feels his stomach fall from his body, eyes going wide, ears ringing from the roar of the crowd. Jesus Christ his father just won the election, his whole summer grueling over paperwork and whatnot hasn’t been for nothing. Before he even knows what his hands are doing he feels his magic vibrate through his fingertips, his eyes watching as confetti is raining down only to vanish by the time it hits the ground. 

“Really kiddo?” His father laughs, pulling him in for a hug. 

Stiles shrugs with a laugh of his own, hugging him briefly before letting him go towards the podium. Everyone is wearing smiles and he feels incredibly lucky that they aren’t getting booed at the moment. He thought for sure Talia was going to win the votes but here he was, son of the new mayor. 

“Well,” his father says, eyes looking wet, “at least my son has the decency to cast an unplanned spell that is self cleaning.” 

It makes everyone laugh, and Stiles feels his cheeks heat up violently. The camera pans back to him and he manages a weak smile and a soft wave before his eyes focus back on his father while he gives his acceptance speech. It ends up being short and sweet, the genuine tone in his father’s voice makes Stiles feel confident in his ability to keep his promises to the people. By the time it ends the crowd is cheering again, Talia and his father exchange words, and Wilson is ushering everyone inside for the celebratory gala. 

They end up in one of city hall’s massive showrooms; food, music, and people fill the space. Those with invitations and who are associated trickle in, and soon it’s full on party mode. Scott rushes up to him and bear hugs him to no end, even Allison holds him tight with a congratulations.

“You’re kind of like royalty now dude,” Scott jokes. 

Stiles rolls his eyes, “I am not royalty, too clumsy for it anyways.” 

“Still, this is going to be so cool, I know how much this means to your dad,” Scott continues and Stiles nods to that. It means a great deal, as Sheriff he vowed to protect and serve and this job is pretty much the same except the title is different. 

He’s so proud it makes his chest hurt. 

Well actually now that he’s focusing on it his chest does feel weird but in a way he’s grown familiar with over the past six months. His hand rubs at his sternum, eyes flickering away from Scott and Allison as he scans the crowd. It only takes a second to find Derek who is standing beside some of his family and pack mates; Stiles loves Derek in a suit, it’s the hottest thing he’s ever seen in his life. 

“What about Derek Hale in a suit?” Allison asks while Scott chokes on his drink. 

Stiles grins wide, “I’ll catch you guys up later, alright?” 

He fixes his tie as he quickly worms through the crowd until he’s right in front of Derek, and they’re right in front of a lot of people but nobody seems to think anything of it. Except maybe Scott and Allison because he can still feel their gaze on him. 

“Hottest thing you’ve seen in your life huh?” Derek snickers.

“Well maybe second hottest thing, I have seen you naked which is always going to be at the top,” Stiles corrects and much to his delight Scott is once again freaking out. 

Derek laughs softly, arms winding around Stiles’ lower back and pulling him close. Stiles’ hands run from Derek’s shoulders up to his scruffy face, thumbs brushing through the coarse hairs. They both hesitate because it’s new and weird to have this be public, but after six months of wearing himself out with cover spell after cover spell and Derek curbing his instincts they’ve had enough waiting. Stiles leans in, pressing their lips together tenderly, but it’s Derek who is growling beneath the tenderness and deepening the kiss. 

“Yes!” Laura squeals from somewhere and he can hear Boyd, Erica, and Isaac laughing with her and cheering like they’re in some crappy rom-com movie. 

It’s when his father’s voice breaks through the slight chaos with an “ _ aw hell son _ ” that makes them break apart. Both his father and Derek’s parents are approaching them, the three of them looking a mix of hurt and shocked. 

“We didn’t think this through,” Stiles mutters to Derek. 

Derek huffs, “yeah no shit.” 

Regardless though Derek holds his hand tight, allowing them contact while they face their respective parents. His father has his arms crossed, eyebrows scrunched together which only makes the lines on his forehead stick out even more. Talia and Andrew are both sporting expectant looks, and holy shit seeing Andrew up close makes Stiles realize how much Derek looks like his father when he’s upset. 

“Something you want to tell us boys?” Andrew starts, obviously a no nonsense kind of man. 

Derek doesn’t say anything, and Stiles knows he’s nervous. Hell he’s about to vomit everywhere from nerves himself. When he meets his father’s eyes he watches something click; he doesn’t know if it’s his own bond he had with his wife or if it’s things he may have picked up on but he  _ gets  _ it. 

“Goddamnit Stiles,” his father snaps, thwacking him upside the head, “what the hell made you hide this?”

Stiles flails, free hand cupping his head while the other hand gets a death grip from Derek. 

“Hiding wha— _ oh my god, _ Derek Samuel Hale I can’t believe you!” Talia gasps, figuring it out herself before giving the same smack to Derek. Stiles watches his mate whine a little, because while he may be an Alpha like his mother she still is his mother which makes him cower a bit. 

“We didn’t want to like...sway the polls or anything! The news was all over you guys and having the two kids of both candidates become mates seemed like something the general populous would find, I don’t know...fishy?” Stiles rushes out, trying to explain. 

“I don’t care if the general populous knew and voted for a damn hamster to become mayor in protest. You two should’ve told us,” Andrew says, scrubbing a hand down his face in frustration. 

“It’s not like it was some hardship,” Derek finally spoke up, silencing those around them, “I mean it sucked not being able to tell you guys. I know how important this is especially to our family...but it gave both of us a lot of time alone to get to know each other. I didn’t have my siblings and cousins pestering me for gossip. I didn’t have you guys lecturing me on mating. I got to know Stiles my way which I wouldn’t change.” 

Stiles is looking at Derek now, mouth a little slack and eyes feeling a little wet and tingly with unshed tears, feeling his heart and stomach doing flips. 

He looks back to their parents and nods, “ditto...uh, what he said.” 

The three parents are obviously moved by what was just said, enough so they bring them into a massive group hug. That’s when Laura jumps in, then Cora, then Erica and Isaac, followed by Boyd, then most of the Hales, and of course that prompts Scott and his mother to join. Hell even Lydia and Allison get in on it as well. At the center of it all he and Derek are holding on to each other, and maybe it was kind of rocky to get here but they did it. When they all break apart it’s kind of quiet and emotional, and nobody wants to break the ice first. 

“Best election ever,” Finstock cheers, “stop moping and dance or something people! I want to see butts shaking on the dance floor!” 

Stiles laughs, grabbing Derek’s hand before dragging him towards the dance floor, “you heard the man!” 

Everyone ends up dancing, the band is obviously thrilled they get to play for an enthusiastic crowd. It ended up terrific; he and Derek are now out about their bond, his father is mayor, and best of all it feels like a chapter of his life is ending and a very good one is about to begin. 

* * *

 

“Please don’t go,” Stiles whines, leaning against Derek with his index fingers hooked through Derek’s belt loops. 

The werewolf sighs, looking at him with a smile, “I have to. You don’t want an uneducated mate do you?” 

His father entered office in November, and now it’s January which means second semester at colleges. Derek skipped the first to stick around for that but now it’s over and he is heading off to UCLA which is a terrible three hour drive south. Of course they both have been preparing for this, and next year when Stiles heads to Berkeley they’ll be a little closer. 

Still it’s hard. He won’t physically see Derek until spring break after he leaves today. 

Stiles pouts, “not fair, don’t guilt me like that of course I want you to be educated...I’m just gonna miss you like crazy.” 

“Facetime. Skype. Text. Email—” Derek drones on.

“Don’t forget carrier pigeon,” Peter calls from the front porch of the Hale house.

They both pause and laugh at that, because for as much as that guy is a pain in the ass he has his moments. Stiles looks back to Derek, giving him a few pecks before pulling back. Apparently that’s not enough because he’s pulled right back in for a deeper kiss that leaves them breathless. When they finally pull apart, Stiles forces himself to step back and let Derek approach the driver’s side. 

“You still have our Christmas present?” Derek asks, popping the door open but not getting in yet. 

Stiles grins and pulls the chain around his neck out from under his shirt, the small triskelion charm dangling from it. He can see Derek’s around his neck as well and it makes his chest ache in a very good way. 

Derek gives him a soft look, “then you know I’ll always be with you. I’ll call when I get there.” 

“Okay...I love you,” Stiles says. 

“I love you too,” Derek echoes before getting into his car which starts up effortlessly. Through the tinted windows he can barely see the small wave he’s given but he waves back watching as he starts down the road. He stands there until tail lights vanish into the woods of the preserve. He frowns as he turns on his heel and walks back up to the house. 

Talia is in the doorway giving him a very motherly look he’s needed a while to get used to again. 

“Would a Star Wars marathon and chicken wings make you feel better?” She asks. 

Stiles rolls his eyes with a snort of laughter, “yeah I wish.” 

“It’s not a wish sweetheart. Derek figured it might cheer you up. Come on, we’re already waiting in the media room. I know Nathan is over the moon to watch it with you,” Talia explains. 

He doesn’t believe it until he sees it, the whole family and pack —which now includes his father and the McCalls— are sprawled throughout the room. His favorite seat which is the corner of the L shaped couch is set up with his favorite fuzzy blanket and a pillow that is suspiciously similar to the one in Derek’s room. Wings and fries are spread on the coffee table for everyone to pick at. He promptly thanks everyone and takes a seat.

By the time they’re halfway into the first movie he’s pulling out his phone with clean fingers to shoot a text to Derek. 

_ I can’t believe you made a Star Wars and wings party happen.  _

A moment passes before he gets a response. 

_ Glad you like it. Love you, and yes I’m texting because I’m stopped at a red light.  _

Stiles grins, because he would be pretty mad if Derek texted while driving with or without werewolf senses. He sends a kissing emoji back before pocketing his phone, and helps explain to Nathan  _ and  _ Scott how the force works. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the Sterek Exchange 2017 for hosting!!! ♥


End file.
